Hamill battles Jardine on TUF 11 Finale card June 19

Las Vegas, NV (USA) –– Two of the most celebrated alumni from The Ultimate Fighter® will finally meet inside the Octagon™ in the live finale of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz” on Saturday, June 19 at 9:00pm ET/PT. Emanating from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, the “Dean of Mean,” Keith Jardine (Season 2) takes on Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (season 3) in a matchup pitting Jardine’s unorthodox striking against Hamill’s powerhouse wrestling, with the winner moving further up the ranks in the UFC’s ultra-competitive light heavyweight division.

Las Vegas, NV (USA) –– Two of the most celebrated alumni from The Ultimate Fighter® will finally meet inside the Octagon™ in the live finale of Spike TV’s “The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz” on Saturday, June 19 at 9:00pm ET/PT. Emanating from The Pearl at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, the “Dean of Mean,” Keith Jardine (Season 2) takes on Matt “The Hammer” Hamill (season 3) in a matchup pitting Jardine’s unorthodox striking against Hamill’s powerhouse wrestling, with the winner moving further up the ranks in the UFC’s ultra-competitive light heavyweight division.

“Matt Hamill versus Keith Jardine is a battle between two fan favorites known for exciting fights,” said Dana White, UFC President. “Hamill is a powerful wrestler and Jardine an unorthodox striker but both have shown knockout power. Both of these fighters know that they need to win this fight to continue on their way up the light heavyweight ranks.”

Tickets for The Ultimate Fighter® 11 Finale are $454, $354 and $204, plus any additional box office or service fees, and go on-sale Friday, April 30 at 12 p.m. PT. Please visit any Ticketmaster location, call 800-745-3000 or visit www.ticketmaster.com to purchase tickets.

UFC® Fight Club™ members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets to The Ultimate Fighter® 11 Finale Wednesday, April 28 at 10 a.m. PT via the website UFCFIGHTCLUB.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, April 29 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

"Keith's a great fighter and has been one of the division's top contenders for a long time," said Hamill. "For me to get to the next level in my career, I have to beat him on June 19th and I'm going to do everything in my power to do that."

Hamill (9-2), fighting out of Utica, NY, has won three of his last four UFC bouts including a recent victory via disqualification over the previously undefeated Jon Jones last December. Prior to that bout, Hamill had scored wins over Mark Munoz at UFC 96 in March 2009 via knockout, and Reese Andy at UFC 92 in December 2008 via TKO.

"Matt is a good fighter and a good guy but this match is the first step in getting me back on top,” said Jardine. “I got my start fighting on The Ultimate Fighter and I had one of my most memorable fights on the Finale. I got a lot fans from that fight and I'm honored to be fighting in the main event."

Jardine (14-8-1), a protégé of legendary trainer Greg Jackson, fights out of Albuquerque, NM. Dubbed “The Dean of Mean,” the 34 year-old veteran has an impressive list of victories on his resume, including wins over Chuck Liddell at UFC 76, Forrest Griffin at UFC 66, and Brandon Vera at UFC 89, and a victory over Hamill will put him closer to a shot at the coveted light heavyweight belt.

Other bouts on the card will be announced at a later date, including “The Ultimate Fighter” finalists.

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